Health and Physical Education consultation feedback analysis
The Ministry's longer analysis of consultation feedback includes a section on Outdoor Education in the draft HPE curriculum.
Research, reports and guidance on education outside the classroom and outdoor education, with a plain-English summary of each and a link to the original. New items are added every week.
The library began with Education Outside the Classroom: Applied Research Readings 2010–2017(McNatty & Boyes, University of Otago, 2017). Later items were found, summarised and checked with AI assistance using the same method: every reference is checked against the publisher's record, every summary against the published abstract, and only items rated high confidence by two independent relevance checks are published. Summaries are a guide: read the original before citing it.
Research library
12 items
What you told us and how we responded: Health and Physical Education consultation response
From 786 submissions, the Ministry says it broadened Outdoor Education in the final HPE curriculum beyond a narrow safety focus.
Development and validation of the School Contexts of Outdoor Learning (SCOOL) scale
An 18-item scale measures barriers and enablers of outdoor learning at teacher, school and education-system level.
Beyond The Classroom: Exploring Outdoor Learning in Canadian Schools
Interviews with Canadian children and educators, plus a geographical scan with policymakers, point to the interconnected support and buy-in needed at policy, administrator and educator levels for outdoor learning to benefit children.
Outdoor education in NI: impacts and issues
A Northern Ireland Assembly research paper sets out the benefits of outdoor education, the barriers to it, potential lessons from elsewhere, and the key issues to address to embed outdoor learning in schools and other settings in Northern Ireland.
The ‘Welsh way’, outdoor learning within the primary curriculum: a ‘fringe add-on or mainstream pedagogical practice’?
A review of 25 years of Welsh policy argues that outdoor learning should be mainstream primary practice, supported by professional learning and held to account through school inspection.
Links between natural environments, learning and health: evidence briefing (EIN063)
An updated Natural England evidence briefing reports a substantial body of evidence supporting a positive association between engagement with the natural environment and a diverse range of learning processes and outcomes, including educational, social, developmental and health outcomes.
Flourishing EOTC in Aotearoa New Zealand: Challenges and solutions
A solutions-focused article for teachers and school leaders that draws on a recent large-scale New Zealand study to offer realistic, sustainable ways to manage common EOTC challenges.
Education Outside the Classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand – A Comprehensive National Study: Final Report
EOTC is part of the fabric of almost every school in Aotearoa and highly valued, with cost, staff capability, time and health and safety demands the main constraints.
Grounds for Learning: Schoolyard Activities as Provocations, Scaffolds and Mediators for Childhood Learning
Australian policy increasingly requires natural outdoor spaces in early childhood and schools, yet how these environments shape learning is still under-researched.
Student Outcomes and Natural Schooling. Pathways from evidence to impact report 2016
The report summarises research on how social and economic factors shape children's access to the natural environment and what policy could change.
Time for change in outdoor learning
Outdoor learning is presented as an effective way to meet curriculum aims, with a call for fairer access and funding.